The Sin of Blasphemy
“Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the Son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” Matthew 12:22-25
All throughout Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and in His previous encounters with the Pharisees, He had been very straightforward and fairly blunt concerning His speech to them. Here we find Jesus healing and serving those who were ill, handicapped, or possessed by a demon, the latter being the situation of this man who could not see or speak. Demon possession was a real occurrence during Jesus’ time on earth, and only His power could cure it. The Jews believed that if a person suffered, it was God’s punishment for sin that the person had committed. That does happen, but many times suffering is caused by bad choices that folks make. Not every affliction is the result of personal sin. Sometimes it happens because of this sin-filled world in which we live, and sometimes we suffer because of the sins of others. That would be the case of an injury received in an accident caused by a drunk driver.
It was either a concerned friend or relative who brought this man to Jesus or perhaps he was brought by the Pharisees in an effort to trap Jesus into violating the law so that they would have probable cause to arrest Him. Jesus looked on this man with compassion and healed him. The crowd that had gathered was amazed. I can picture the Pharisees looking at each other with scowls on their faces, but glee in their hearts for they thought they could use this incident as a way to trap Jesus. The people, aware of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 35:5) concerning the Messiah, asked out loud, “Is not this the Son of David?” The Pharisees were sure that this Man from Galilee was, first of all, in no way related to their great king David, and secondly, He certainly could not be God’s Messiah. In their arrogance, they blurted out, “This Fellow (notice that they would not even call Him by His name) doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.”
I can almost hear a gasp among the crowd. Deep down the religious leaders feared Jesus because of all the notoriety that He was gaining. They saw Him as a threat to their power as prestigious religious leaders. In order to attempt to make Him look bad before the people, they accused Him of receiving His power from Beelzebub, who was identified in scripture as the prince of evil spirits, the prince of moral impurity, the Philistine god of flies, and the lord of the dwelling of evil spirits. Whichever description they intended, they brought condemnation upon themselves as blasphemers. Unger’s Bible Dictionary gives us two forms of blasphemy: 1.) Attributing some evil to God, or denying Him some good which we should attribute to Him (Leviticus 24:11-16; Romans 2:24) and 2.) Giving the attributes of God to a creature. The Pharisees were guilty. They were giving the devil credit for the miracle that Jesus did.
There was no way for the Pharisees to deny that a miracle had taken place. They had to explain it somehow, so, what more convenient way for them than to accuse Jesus of working through the devil to cast out a devil? But what’s wrong with that picture? Did they not listen to what they were saying? Jesus read their thoughts and said “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” If Jesus was working for and though Satan, why would He cast out one of Satan’s own devils? That makes no sense. We have an old saying, “United we stand, divided we fall” which apparently came from this passage. There was even a popular song from the 1970’s with this title. History has shown how nations whose people were at odds with one another, could not get along, and could not, or would not stand together did not survive. At the time that I first wrote these notes, 2011, our nation’s people were very divided as to the course this country should follow into the future. Nine years later we are more divided than ever. Only time will tell whether we survive and continue to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. It was absurd to accuse Christ of being in league with the very one He came to conquer. The fact that He cast out a devil was proof of His deity and also proof of His plan to rid the world of Satan’s influence.
Blasphemy and using God’s name in vain are certainly on the rise in today’s culture. I enjoy reading articles on line written by some of our nation’s foremost inspirational writers. I also check out the comments that folks write which are included after the articles. Most of the comments are in agreement with what the author said in his or her writing, but there are a few who write some of the most blasphemous and hateful things about God and about the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s almost like they are shaking their fists in God’s face daring Him to act. I am reminded when Jesus was arrested, beaten, slapped, mocked, and had a crown of long, sharp thorns planted on His head, He didn’t say a word. One of these days, though, He will come to judge the nations. Those who literally spit in His face and those who today hurl the most vile and disgusting remarks to Him, cursing Him, or completely denying His existence will publicly acknowledge Him as Lord while on their knees (Philippians 2:10), but still in their sin, they won’t be able to call Him Savior. I wish folks would wake up to that fact, because it will happen just as God has said.